Parasha: Vayelech · Aliyah: First (Chesed)

וילך משה, "Moses went, etc." We need to know where Moses went. Yonathan ben Uzziel translates that Moses went to the study hall. Other commentators such as Nachmanides and Rabbeynu Bachyah say that he went from the camp of the Levites to the encampment of the Israelites much like a man who takes leave from his friends. The wording of the Torah is vague and does not provide a clue as to where Moses actually went. Another thing we are entitled to know is who told Moses that he would die on that day. Have we not been told in Shabbat 30 that man is not informed of precisely how long he will live? If that is correct, who told Moses that he would die on that day?

I believe we must explain our verse by recalling the Zohar volume one page 217. We are told there that 40 days prior to man's death his נשמה leaves him. Zohar bases this on Song of Songs 4,6: ונסו הצללים, "and the shadows fled." These "shadows" search for a resting place in the celestial regions and the righteous are aware of this. It is described there that Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was aware of the fact that Rabbi Yitzchak's soul had already departed from him while the latter was still alive.

It is also mentioned there that the names of the Israelites are actually the names of their respective souls. I myself have explained this on Proverbs 10,7 "that the name of the wicked will rot." Zohar Chadash 120 interprets this to mean that the wicked will not be able to remember his name, the reason being that the wicked has no soul. Having been deprived of his soul it is not surprising that the wicked does not recall his name.

Here we are told that "Moses went;" this means that his soul, the spirit of life named Moses, had gone from him just like in any other צדיק whose end is at hand. In this instance Moses' soul is referred to in the masculine gender, i.e. וילך, to stress the greatness of his soul. By writing וידבר את הדברים האלה the Torah indicates that Moses was aware when walking that he would die on that day. He made this plain when he said: "I am exactly 120 years old today, etc." Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 11 interpret Moses' words as: "today my days and years have been completed."

Having read all this you may ask how it was that Moses knew that he would die on that day and not 40 days later seeing we said that the soul leaves 40 days before one's death? Read what I have written on Genesis 47,29 "Israel's days to die approached."

וידבר את הדברים האלה, He spoke these words, etc. Moses wanted to show that though he was 120 years old and about to die he had the strength to say all the words recorded from here until the end of the Book of Deuteronomy. No one except Moses possessed the physical or intellectual strength to do this.

לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבא, "I am no longer able to go out and come in" (lead you in war). Moses attributed his inability to do so to the fact that he had already lost control over his soul the one which bore his name, as we explained in the name of the Zohar. It had already departed from him.

He also wanted to explain to the people why he was convinced that he would die on that day. While we have already supplied the reason for this, it is not in the nature of the righteous to let on to their peers that they have some superior perceptions; this would be arrogant. This is why Moses cited two different reasons. 1) I am unable to lead you in war, i.e. I no longer have G'd's permission to do so. This permission has now been given Joshua. 2) G'd has told me: "you will not cross this river Jordan." From these two indicators it was clear to him that he had outlived his usefulness and was about to die.

The letter ו before the word השם is to be understood as the reason for the word היום Moses had used immediately before.

The sequence of the words וה׳ אמר אלי, "and the Lord had said to me, etc." which follow so closely on Moses' statement: I cannot go out, etc." indicate his loyalty as a servant of the Creator. He suggested by this sequence that if, per chance, this same G'd would now give him instructions to cross the Jordan, he, Moses, would gird himself and be ready to lead the Israelites across though he did not feel capable of doing so at this moment. The only reason he did not insist on doing so was that G'd had told him not to.

ה אלוקיך הוא עובר לפניך…הוא ישמיד "The Lord your G'd will personally cross ahead of you;…He will destroy these nations, etc." Moses had to repeat the word הוא, "He," a second time as he intended to console the people over his own death which represented a double loss for them. Firstly, it had been he who had repeatedly protected the people from G'd's anger such as at the episode of the golden calf and then again when G'd had threatened to wipe out the people after they had accepted the majority report of the spies. Secondly, Moses had defeated the two mighty kings Sichon and Og. They would therefore be concerned who would take Moses' place should the need arise.

Concerning the fact that he had been able to assuage G'd's anger on two critical occasions, he now said that G'd would עובר לפניך, in the sense this word occurred in Exodus 17,5 where G'd had said to Moses עבור לפני העם, suggesting that Moses forgive, "pass over" the sins he had accused the people of committing. At that time, G'd wanted the miracle of producing water to be credited to Moses rather than to Himself. On another occasion, immediately after the sin of the golden calf, G'd had said to Moses: "Let Me be so that I can destroy the people." In other words, it had been G'd who had given Moses a hint that his prayer might help (Exodus 32,9). In view of this Moses said: "He will pass over your sins Himself;" you do not depend on me doing this for you.

As far as Moses' prowess in warfare, He told the people that it was not his own personal strength which had performed all these valiant deeds but that G'd had been the real Warrior. As to the means G'd would employ in His fight against the Canaanites, Moses cited Joshua as the official representative who would march at the head of the army.

He emphasised the word הוא, "he," to make clear that the fact that Joshua marches at the head was crucial. When the army of Israel [a small contingent of about 3.000 men. Ed.] suffered a defeat at the town of Ai (Joshua 7,5-15) and there were about 36 Jewish casualties, Joshua is reported as falling on his face complaining to G'd. One of the reasons cited by the Talmud Sanhedrin 44 for this defeat was that Joshua had not been at the head of that army contingent. He had not considered the objective as deserving his personal attention. Moses here stresses that it is Joshua's task to walk in front of the army.